This invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for making an orthotic appliance to improve performance of a person's foot.
Orthotic appliances and methods for preparing orthotic appliances have been the subject of previously issued patents. The following patents disclose various methods for preparing orthotic appliances.
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor ______________________________________ 4,454,618 Curchod 4,510,636 Phillips 4,876,758 Rolloff et al. 5,054,148 Grumbine ______________________________________
These patents disclose methods wherein the top portion of the orthotic, the portion in contact with the foot when worn, is milled by a milling device from a thick block of orthotic material.
The method of preparing an orthotic appliance can affect the material costs involved. For example, a process that requires milling one or both sides of a block of orthotic material wastes the cuttings made in shaping the orthotic. If a rectangular block of material is used as a starting point, material is wasted both in sizing the orthotic and in the cutting of the particular corrections. If sized blanks of material shaped to the person's general shoe size are used, somewhat less material is lost during cutting, but there is the added expense of stocking blanks of various shoe sizes.
Furthermore, if a particular orthotic prescription calls for a medial flange to extend up above the plane of the orthotic to add arch support, an even larger block of material is necessary. The block of material used in cutting out an orthotic with such a flange is necessarily going to be thicker in a process where both sides are milled. Because of the added cost of wasted material, it would be advantageous that a process for preparing an orthotic minimize the material cut away.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an efficient, inexpensive method for preparing an orthotic appliance while still providing an orthotic appliance with desirable properties.